


The Man with the Worst Luck

by eun0ia



Series: Stole my heart (and my money) [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bank Robbery, Karasuno, M/M, Multi, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Police AU, bank robbery AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6138391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eun0ia/pseuds/eun0ia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akaashi Keiji did not consider himself accident prone in the least, however he couldn't deny the fact that he simply attracted trouble. As a regular witness at the Karasuno Police Station, and the new interest of a professional criminal he finds himself in plenty of unlucky situations.</p><p>(A.K.A Akaashi manages to find himself robbed, mugged, or held hostage at least once a month but he never imagined he could find someone who made him feel so warm.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Cold; lacking affection or warmth of feeling; unemotional. A word diverse enough to be used to describe people, actions, emotions, expressions, or the respectful lack thereof. Akaashi had adapted to the cold as if he were born into it, and in many ways he supposed he was. His parents were offputting, to say the least. Only hinting towards feeling a sense of pride in Akaashi when he did what he was expected of him. High expectations that left the male cold over the years and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was what they had wanted all along. For him to turn into the perfect copy of themselves.

From the time he could walk he had been enrolled in prestigious schools, classes, and various lessons, but he had never been invited to a single play date. Everything set up by his parents as a way to begin networking at an early age. He was polite, and so were the children but it was never friendship. He could speak English, French, and Spanish fluently along with Japanese, but he didn’t know how to ride a bike.

He had received numerous awards for playing the piano, but he had never been to karaoke with friends. Or with anyone to be specific. He was molded into the person they desperately wanted to be and Akaashi felt less like himself and more like Akaashi 2.0 when he was around them. The act of perfection weighing down on him for years and now Akaashi was cold.

The four gray walls that currently confined the man were meant to make him feel comfortable with the large policeman next to him, who in all honesty looked as if he could be a criminal himself, but it was a sad attempt. It wasn’t Asahi’s presence that was unnerving, however waiting to identify the man who had recently robbed the Alistair bank. Akaashi, despite always being able to correctly identify the assailants every time he was involved with these situations which was often, was always slightly afraid of not being able to help in these cases.

He shifted his attention to the group of men who shuffled into the booth and even though they couldn’t see Akaashi he still looked down for a second before he reminded himself of the fact. His eyes drifted over the various men before they stopped on an almost buffoonish man who sported a different hairstyle and color since the last time they had met. His hair was now a jet black and sported bangs that looked as if they had gotten into a fight with scissors, and the scissors had won. His eyes were similar to a rabid animal and his angry expression was hidden poorly behind a facade of cool collectiveness. Akaashi almost laughed at his weak attempt at a glare through the one-sided mirror. The man had missed Akaashi by a few feet and just looked ridiculous.

“Number four,” Akaashi said simply turning on his heel to exit the small gray room he was all too familiar with. He had done his part and knew the protocol well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t need to worry about being needed any further than that. The Karasuno Police force was well off to handle the rest on their own. He made his way to the front of the station with graceful strides that casually increased their pace with every step, trying very hard to avoid-

“Akaashi!” The dark haired male stopped and sighed, this was what he had been hoping to avoid but when was luck ever on Akaashi’s side. A flash of orange rushed towards him and a less noticeable streak of black followed behind sulking silently, “I missed you since the last time you blessed us with your presence. I was going to bake you cookies but Kageyama won’t let me use the oven anymore since I burned those brownies but it’s the thought that counts right?”

Ah, Hinata Shoyou and Kageyama Tobio. Respectively an odd match, but Akaashi assumed the idea of opposites attracting was the fire behind the duo’s friendship. Kageyama was intense, hard to read but easy at the same time. He didn’t smile often, not that he wasn’t happy simply because he had other ways to express his emotions.

Hinata was also intense, in a way similar to staring at the sun for too long, and being around him always left Akaashi a little exhausted. He was easy to read, trusting and very opinionated. He was often smiling. The two were rarely seen without one another, and they had been connected at the hip since the academy or, at least, that was the story Akaashi had been given.

“I suppose so. Maybe next time be patient and wait for the correct time given in the instructions.” The dark haired male suggested and wasn’t surprised to see Hinata flush slightly and his eyes fall as if he was being reprimanded.

“In theory, it should’ve worked! If I have to wait 20 minutes at 350 degrees I should be able to bake them for a shorter time with a higher heat, but the oven didn’t listen.” He argued with a pout gracing his face and Kageyama snickered receiving a glare in return, “That’s not my point, though. I still don’t have anything to give you!”

“Peace and quiet?” Kageyama offered, hiding his laughs behind his hand and Hinata deadpanned at the suggestion.

“Shut up Bakageyama!”

“Don’t call me that, dumbass!”

“Don’t call me a dumbass,” Hinata paused, face scrunched in intense thought, “Dumbass!”

Akaashi raised an eyebrow at the smug look on Hinata’s face as if he had just insulted the taller man’s entire family tree. Kageyama was going to respond but Akaashi quickly cleared his throat, not wanting to spend any more time on their everlasting argument of intelligence.

“Oh, Right! So I've been thinking-”Kageyama snickered but Hinata ignored him in favor of pleasing Akaashi, “and maybe you could stick with this bank? I know you always switch banks after, but even I wouldn’t be dumb enough to rob a bank that had just been robbed.”

Akaashi nodded slowly, the idea itself wasn’t that terrible and it wasn’t as if his previous strategy was working very well for him. His lips tugged up into a polite smile, “I suppose that might work. I think I will be taking your advice, Thank you Hinata-Kun.”

The young man then continued to exit the Karasuno police station, however, he did not miss the bright grin that etched it’s way onto Hinata’s face.

Now, Akaashi stood silently waiting in line, a mixture of elevator music and soft techno danced around him as an attempt to ease away his nerves. His fingers laced and unlaced in front of him, a nervous quirk he couldn’t seem to shake. It reminded him of long dinners spent being reprimanded for not meeting expectations. Long fingers intertwined underneath the dinner table, left red from squeezing hard enough to keep his tears at bay.

The apathetic man sighed unintentionally at the sudden memory and let his eyes wander along the familiar bank to ease his mind. The building was spacious and clean, but it also looked to be in the stages of needed renovations due to the robbery. He could see a new security system in place, new cameras replacing the ones that had been shot at. He shuffled his feet softly against the black and white marble tile and he could remember how cold the grooves had felt underneath his palms.

Ahead of Akaashi were a few more people in line waiting to get their errands out of the way. He could see their reflections against the glass but he honed in on himself almost self-consciously. He tugged at the navy blue sweater that layered upon a red flannel. It read ‘Saint Dominic's Players Club’ along the front in English, but Akaashi didn’t have the slightest idea of where or what the club was. It was unimportant when he choose it this morning but now he wondered if others would hold what he didn’t know over him.

He shook his head slightly, pushing the round black frames back against his nose. His sight was fine without his glasses but occasionally he would wear them to prevent straining his eyes and creating migraines that seemed to last for ages.

The line moved forward and Akaashi approached one of the tellers, handing over his recent paycheck with a polite smile. It was one he had practiced that came off as just the right amount of friendly to be nice, but not enough to spark any conversation. She smiled back kindly taking the check from his hands to deposit it quickly.

Despite the efficiency of the transaction, things quickly went to shit.

Two men stepped from the back of the building, dressed entirely in black with animal masks covering everything but their eyes. Small holes dotted around the mouth, small enough for the lips not to be seen but large enough and with enough holes to be heard. They both wore beanies, most likely a way to secure the mask and hide any hair detail in the process. Killing two birds with one stone and Akaashi had to give them slight props for preparation. They wore gloves that concealed hands that gripped lazily onto their guns.

They stood behind the glass that prevented Akaashi from going back there as well, not that he wanted to, and again the man realized it was most likely a precaution to prevent the ability to alert the authorities in any way.

“Alright, things are going to go very smoothly from this point on. Don’t move an inch without being told. Take two large steps away from the counter and register with your hands behind your back.” The taller man said, a deep voice resonating from behind the cat mask he wore, “I don’t want to see anyone trying to play the hero. If you cooperate nobody will get hurt. I’m sure your life is more than money.”

Akaashi sighed and took two steps from the counter waiting for the men to exit the glass with the bank employees and went to sit where they had been herded to go. He moved slowly but not too slowly as not to draw any unwanted attention to himself. When he was sat comfortably, he allowed his eyes to observe the criminals carefully, hoping to catch small details to help the police. His memory was quite good, and with that on top of his attention to detail seemed to make him valuable to the police force.

The smaller man wore what seemed to be a mouse mask, with a shaky line drawn on the mouth made to look like a frown. It was odd and Akaashi wondered if the man had done it himself or if it was a simple minded prank that hadn’t been realized till it was too late. His body language didn’t signify that he was stressed. Neither did the other man and Akaashi realized he was dealing with above novice criminals.

They were joined by a third man who wore black tights underneath loose black basketball shorts and a long sleeve black shirt. He was muscular, and Akaashi would deny that he had been distracted by the tightness of the shirt, especially around his back and arms. His eyes trailed to the man’s mask and could see it was of an owl. He raised an eyebrow slightly, but then his eyes met the other man and he realized he had been caught staring.

However, Akaashi couldn’t look away. The man had the most beautiful eyes Akaashi had ever seen. From this distance, Akaashi could see they were a brilliant gold, most likely a form of hazel but nothing close to the eyes he was used to. They had little brown and black specks dusting over the bright gold and they were wide and wild. His gaze was intense as if he was trying to understand something, but Akaashi could feel his own eyes widening in wonder.

As if realizing they had been staring for much longer than ever needed, Akaashi broke eye contact looking down to the floor and began to silently lecture himself for being so stupid. He refused to look up, for he knew the owl masked man would still be looking. He could ignore the gaze, and he planned on ignoring it for quite awhile. However, he couldn’t ignore how warm he felt. He couldn’t describe it, but he knew that despite it being an illogical and ignorant thing to do, he still wanted to look up just to see those wild eyes once more.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Akaashi is a little bit of a dick, Bokuto is too clumsy, and Kuroo is having too much fun making fun.

Akaashi continued to look down to avoid the man’s intense gaze that bore upon him, making him feel heavy yet light at the same time. Great, he absolutely adored gaining attention from criminals. He turned his head, letting himself look at the faces that blended in amongst the small crowd. He could see the obvious fear in their eyes, it was to be expected since for most bank robberies were not an everyday occasion. He imagined the incidents he’d been involved him had eventually affected him along time but he hadn’t noticed anything truly detrimental.

Sure, he was anxious occasionally and he’d stay alert at all times, but he didn’t consider that any different than how he had been living already. He could take care of himself and he was never in fear of his life. No, he wasn’t satisfied with the life he was living but if it was his time to go he wouldn’t be able to do much. He had much left to do in his lifetime and didn’t want to go without doing them, however when the time came he would imagine that he could be as prepared as anyone else when it came to untimely deaths. 

He could remember the few violent incidents he had been in, they were some of his first incidents since he moved to Tokyo and away from his parents. Men robbing ATMs seemingly more angry and cockier than anyone who robbed a bank would be, so Akaashi made the smart decision to avoid ATMs at all cost. A few broken ribs and nasty bruises seemed like a convincing argument to switch to daytime banking. The more people, the less chance of being singled out.

His eyes trailed along desperate gazes and not so inconspicuous arms reaching for phones tucked away in tight pockets. Rookie mistake. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who noticed this, for the cat masked man narrowed his eyes at the crowd and Akaashi was almost worried he was going to go off on the crowd. The man’s hands shifted on his gun and shivers ran cold down Akaashi’s back. He didn’t want to see anyone get hurt today.

“Ohhoho?” The deep voice muttered, and Akaashi could hear the snarky teasing tone behind his words, “I wouldn’t bother, you won’t get any cell reception or internet in here kids.” 

How the hell did they manage that? Akaashi asked himself, silently brooding as he rested his right forearm onto his upright knee. The other knee folded at a triangular angle as a way to make himself more comfortable against the hard marble. He would suggest an investment in a carpet for the establishment. 

He knew they were intelligent criminals simply by the way they carried themselves and their intellect to plan ahead, but this new information led him to believe they were much more than simply smart. He cursed the day he ever let Hinata make decisions for him, so much for "-even I wouldn’t be dumb enough to rob a bank that had just been robbed". Turns out Hinata just was not criminally advanced enough to be the mastermind behind such a plan.

Surely these men were not the only ones who were in on the devious scheme. It seemed all too thought out to be a three man job. The layout had to have taken a while, and to hack into the buildings wifi and put it on communication lockdown? Much more than just a gunman's job. Akaashi knew they must have a driver but drivers were not exactly known for being the bright ones in the group. They must have a hacker behind the technology aspects, so that area was covered. But it left the looming question of where current authorities were. 

They had to be around the bank considering it had just recently been robbed and customers would want to feel safe by having a higher police presence. The regular security guards sat amongst the crowd, seeming to be stripped of their weaponry and communication devices considering the amount of sulking coming from the men. Perhaps there had been police presence but they had been distracted? Could it have been a big scheme all along? 

Akaashi sighed as endless possibilities ran through his mind. He assumed he wouldn't find out much of anything, considering his best bet was asking the criminals and that was out of the question He would also prefer to stray far from an off brand sherlock holmes or even worse, a second rate Velma in which Hinata was respectively Scooby-Doo and Kageyama being considered as the slightly higher ranked Shaggy. 

From the corner of his eye, Akaashi could see the man beside him tense up and he began to fidget as if contemplating his next move. He didn't seem like the hero type from what he could see, but he supposed this was his act of bravery to commit. In reality, the idea of playing the hero was not only ridiculous but also unsafe for multiple people. It was better to wait for these things to pass by themselves. 

The man closed his brown eyes tight and nodded to himself, light brown waves of hair shifting slightly at the motion, and Akaashi assumed his mental pep talk had just concluded. It seemed now was the best time to intervene before any hasty mistakes could be made.

"Please spare the drama and avoid playing the hero," Akaashi whispered, leaning in close to the man who blushed at the sudden closeness between the two, "As the man said beforehand if we cooperate nobody will be harmed. Acting out will only take up more time and possibly endanger not only yourself but many others."

The man furrowed his eyebrows as if not entirely convinced by Akaashi's argument, "They want the money, our money perhaps but it is all insured and will be safe. They do not want to hurt us. Do you understand?" He asked giving the most innocent look he could.

The man turned an even deeper red but nodded, his body visibly deflating once more beside Akaashi who gave a smile in reward, but it held no true emotion behind it. He also relaxed, sliding away from the man slightly so they held no true proximity.

He allowed for his eyes to wander once more to soothe his current curiosity, yet he hadn't realized he had been staring at the intense owl masked criminal until said man tripped over an uneven slate of marble and Akaashi accidentally let a small chuckle escape past his lips, breaking the soft silence of the room.

The newly tense environment now surrounded Akaashi entirely and he felt sick to his stomach. The intense eyes snapped to him, widened with blatant surprise. To be fair, Akaashi hadn't expected it either. He brought his hand to his mouth but removed it quickly, exchanging his expression of shock to a collected and calmed one. However, that expression was far from how he truly felt inside. Anxiousness seeping into his bones with every step that brought the insanely intriguing man over to him. 

"Hey, hey, hey! Something funny?" He asked, head cocking to the side, but teasing oozed from his tone rather than the expected fierce anger.

"Oh? Simply remembering a joke I heard earlier." He said gracefully, eyes not meeting the others in an attempt to keep himself under a tight filter. 

"Mind sharin', pretty boy?" The other drawled out slowly, and Akaashi found himself hanging onto every word, "I'm sure we are all due for a laugh."

Akaashi gritted his teeth, it was as if this male was trying to dig into every button Akaashi had to be pushed, "I'm afraid it is the kind where you would have to be there to truly understand," He paused, before looking up and meeting the others eyes challengingly, "My humblest apologies." 

His words were polite, but the underlying menace and smirk on his face screamed of a biting dominance. His filter hanging on desperately, but ripping at the seems with each word spat.

"Hmm? That's alright little one, my bro over here is just," A new voice interrupted pausing slightly for dramatic effect, "Trippin'." 

"Don't take pretty boy's side!" The intense man whined, challenge quickly turning to anguish at the sudden betrayal of his partner or better known 'bro'. 

The same calculating and observant eyes from behind the cat mask were now slightly closed in an expression of joy brought out by teasing his partner. He clicked his tongue in fake scolding, "No need to be jealous, simply having a little bit of fun before our time falls short." 

This time, the other male hadn't caught on to the joke and nodded with understanding mixed in between golden hues. His assailant just laughed knowing the other would take a while before he would realize, "C'mon, Kitten is waiting for us out back and I don't want to leave them waiting." 

The owl masked man nodded and turned his attention back to Akaashi who had been watching the scene unfold with amusement hidden behind his stony expression, "Time's up. See ya around Pretty Boy." 

Akaashi raised an eyebrow at this but did not respond, he figured he had dug his own grave but was being graciously saved by the lack of coffin and dirt to bury himself in. The intense man winked at him as he walked back, and his eyes were not leaving Akaashi's as if he were expecting some form of a reaction. In doing so he entirely forgot the ropes that formed the line for the customers and stumbled as he walked into it. He then turned around, rubbing the back of his neck as he hurriedly walked to both men who were laughing at his smooth display. 

With the slam of a door and the screech of tires on the pavement allowed Akaashi to finally breathe easy once more. He began to rise to his feet, the bones of his legs cracking slightly from being so inactive at the time. He rubbed his lower back gently to soothe the pain of sitting for so long. His sleeves had fallen slightly past his hands to he pushed them back up his forearm and yawned slightly. It made him wonder of the time, he had ahead of time to be there before they closed to be out of the establishment with enough time to walk home while the sun was still out.

"Great," Akaashi grumbled under his breath as he walked to the door, pushing it open with little resistance.

As he opened the door, he winced at the sudden brightness of the colors of the setting sun. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket as it began to vibrate with notifications. Mostly from the Grindr app, that had been installed and created against his own will, but he would ignore the notifications as he normally did. A few text messages but nothing that seemed urgent. It was as if the world hadn't realized his absence at all. 

Suddenly a hand was grabbing his bicep, and Akaashi reacted quickly grabbing the hand and twisting it with swift elegance, "Ow! Let go, it's just me!" A tenor voice groaned out in shock and pain. 

Akaashi turned, his face stone cold as he glared at his attacker, coming face to face with the hero from the bank, "Please refrain from touching me." 

The man nodded and rubbed his wrist as Akaashi let go, "I just wanted to thank you for looking out for me."

Akaashi nodded but said nothing, he didn't have time to conversate with a man vain enough to assume Akaashi wasn't simply looking out for himself in there. 

He turned looking around the street for any sign of police, and his eyes connected with familiar sulking ones. However, Kageyama looked confused and bewildered. Akaashi was too angered to consider the man's current mental state and stomped over to him, a glare forming in his eyes.

"Kageyama-san, is it not your current job to be watching over that bank?" He asked, arms crossing across his chest.

"It is, but these men came to me and asked me to help them find something.. but I believe I lost the men while searching for his wallet," He explained slowly as if coming to terms with it himself.

"Besides, Hinata said he would watch it while I helped them out." He continued, nodding his head as if he were proud of himself for pinning any blame on Hinata, "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Akaashi began, his voice cold, "Perhaps if someone was paying attention, said bank would not have just been robbed. I suppose Hinata was also distracted by men who haven't heard of the lost and found?"

Kageyama was now looking down at his feet sheepishly, "That's the funny part..I believe I lost Hinata as well."

Akaashi nodded, "It seems I'm losing something as well."

Kageyama looked up in surprise and his eyes lit up as he thought of a way to get back into Akaashi's good graces, "Maybe I can help you find it?" He asked hopefully.

Akaashi smiled, but it was forced. Lips tight against his skin, "Call me if you find any patience lying around. I seem to have lost it all." He said smoothly, and he began to walk away from the man before a familiar head of orange locks ran from behind the bank. A large grin pulling on both sides of his lips.

"Akaashi! I just met the coolest guy. His hair was long and dyed, and he was really smart and good at video games and he let me watch him play before his friends returned, but I didn't get to meet his friends because he was embarrassed or something but I hope I see him again." Hinata spilled out, not taking a single breath during his monologue of compliments for this stranger.

"Hmm, so what you're telling me is that instead of doing your job you went to play video games with a stranger?" Akaashi said simply, watching Hinata's face fall with dejectedness, "I suppose I've seen where your priorities really lie today." He finished off and he could hear Kageyama squeak behind him. 

Akaashi didn't care, his current emotions were getting the best of him and he refused to stay around any longer only to become worst. He began to walk away without another remark from the duo, who were currently grumbling at each other but even they weren't in the mood for arguing. Akaashi would've felt at least a little remorse if he wasn't still fuming at the events in the bank.

It had been so long since someone had managed to get under his skin the way the intense man had and Akaashi hated it. He had dealt with many people like him before but nobody had drawn out anything other than a general annoyance from him. This man made him feel frustrated, angry, yet curious to know more about him. It made him confused, incredibly confused and not being easy to read or understand irritated him to no end.

Typically Akaashi was good with dealing with others. Knowing when to throw in a few nice sentiments, occasional praise, slight smiles or nods of acknowledgment. People, despite not wanting to be, were very easy to read and their emotions only made them more vulnerable to perception. Expression was human nature, and Akaashi liked to protect himself by making any of his very sparse. He preferred being seen through a cloud rather than seen straight on. 

The intense man saw straight through his fog and forced his way through each emotion as if toying with them. What was worse, it didn't even seem like he was trying to. Why were the emotions Akaashi spent years trying to bottle up, so easily opened up by this mysterious man. What was it about those golden eyes that made him feel so on edge, but comfortable at the same time. The idea of opening up to someone new was so foreign to Akaashi and he could not understand it. 

Akaashi hated not being able to understand anything with a passion, he had spent hours hunched over textbooks and crossing out wrong answers whenever there was an equation he happened to be stuck on. He'd force himself to repeat measures until each chord was timed perfectly. The idea of someone so trivial being able to break down walls that had been forming for years was ridiculous.

He could feel the sharp stinging of his nails as they dug into his own palms, leaving crescent shaped indents on the smooth skin. He hadn't realized he was on the verge of crying until a single tear ran down his cheek, and as if they had found motivation in that tear the rest began to trickle down soon after. Akaashi could see he was approaching his apartment, and he wiped away as many of the tears as he could. Crying over something so small seemed so unjustifiable. He didn't deserve to be crying over something like this, not when others faced worse realities than he did. He hated the feeling of being vulnerable, the idea of being so small. 

He made his way up concrete steps, focusing on getting inside the building quickly and hopefully avoiding any pesky neighbors not wanting them to see him like this. He fumbled with his set of keys and his body began to move on instinct as he felt like shutting down. Before he knew it he was inside his apartment, locking the door behind him and making his way to his bedroom. He changed out of his clothes from earlier and into more comfortable ones and then climbed into bed. 

The last of his tears fell and he quickly pawed at the new wetness. He shivered underneath his mountain of blankets, and he realized just how cold he truly was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi has friends??? **Akaashi has Sugawara.

Sun illuminated the previously dark room, navy blue curtains attempting to restrict each ray of light that escaped their grasp only to cling to any surface that crossed their path first. A large wicker chair sat in a dimly light corner, the cushions a deep shade of adjoining navy blue and a red blanket thrown over them messily. A desk with several papers strewn across the top brooded silently, resting against cream colored walls and standing out with its dark mahogany exterior. A map of the world was pinned to the wall above it, a translucent container holding colorful pushpins filled with hope to rid the map of its sadness. A calculator lay upon the surface of the desk, the clear all button worn away with abundant use. 

Red pen marked A's on top of papers yet to be thrown away. 'Good Job' and 'Impressive' lazily signed against the white sheets, but the compliments were empty, overused, and not quite deserving. Equations and tables scratched on each paper, with loose sheets covered in one's slightly identical but crossed out angrily. New theories and ideas were jotted down messily among yellow post-it notes scattered without pattern among the papers. A framed picture captured a moment of laughter shared between two friends, one with light colored hair and the other with dark curls. Both were young and both were smiling despite the dark haired smile being slightly smaller but not any less happy or genuine. 

A nightstand was placed beside a large bed, upon it sat a soft-hued lamp, a novel, and a charging phone that was momentarily silent and calm. In the bed, there was a large and ungraceful lump underneath a mountain of blankets that curled amongst itself. 

Grumbles and whispered curses were muffled from underneath the black covers until an arm wormed its way out of the mountain, pushing the covers back and exposing a pouting face. The young man sat up, rubbing at tired eyes as a yawn escaped his frowning lips. He wore a maroon t-shirt that was wrinkled but visibly soft and noticeably worn in. 

Akaashi sighed, accepting the inevitable defeat in the war of peaceful sleep. The reigning champions shining brighter than ever as if to rub waking him up in his face. Of course, he then realized he was assuming sunlight was cocky and pompous and that waking up wasn't entirely terrible. 

Dried tears stuck to his cheeks, running in odd paths and they bewildered the man. He had had an awful nightmare, and it had left him with a searing migraine and a guilty heaviness in his chest. He swung his bare legs over the side of his bed, feet searching desperately for his house slippers to keep them warm. Despite spring being right around the corner, it seemed to be shy this year and the contrasting cold of the night left Akaashi's floors cold and punishing to walk on barefoot. 

When he found the warmth of his slippers he reveled in it, taking a few moments to come to terms with his rude awakening. Oddly enough, his legs were sore but he could not wrap his fingers around why they would be. He reached for his charging phone and unlocked it with ease only to be bombarded with a sudden onslaught of notifications ranging from texts to missed calls and voicemails. 

"What?" He asked himself out loud as he scrolled through the numerous apologies from Hinata, fully equipped with sad emoticons and horrendous spelling errors. He even found a few from Kageyama, unsurprisingly void of emoticons but his abbreviations made up   
for lack thereof. What worried Akaashi most was the five voicemails left from Koushi.

He winced almost instinctively as he dialed his voicemail preparing for the worst.

"Akaashi, why have Kageyama and Hinata come to my office blubbering and whining about upsetting you? They mentioned something about a robbery? You know you are supposed to come straight to me if something like that ever happens! Do you know how worried-"

The pieces of the puzzle suddenly started to click in place and Akaashi shivered as he remembered the events of last night. The intense gaze connecting to his own with such demanded dominance.

"Message marked for deletion, four new messages from Koushi."

"Akaashi Keiji if you do not pick up this damn phone I swear-"

"Message marked for deletion, three new messages from Koushi."

"Don't you dare ignore my calls, and you better be listening to all these damn message-"

"Message marked for deletion, two new messages from Koushi." 

"Keiji, I'm really starting to worry about-"

"Message marked for deletion, one new message from Koushi."

"You haven't responded to a single message. You had better pray and hope to god that you have a decent excuse for not answering any of my texts or calls. I have given you enough time to respond Keiji. I'm coming over."

The message ended and Akaashi hung up quickly checking the time that message had been recorded and tensing up when he saw it was over twenty minutes ago. He knew Koushi was not lying when he said he would be over to Akaashi's apartment. He didn't have a lot of time to prepare himself for the motherly man's arrival so he would have to rush to look presentable.

His legs started to work almost before his brain did as he rushed to the bathroom, rubbing face wash hurriedly against his skin and brushing his teeth rigorously. He blinked at his reflection, dark bags gracing his cheeks and Akaashi cursed knowing he wouldn't have time for concealer. He brushed his hair and began to apply his moisturizer as his door bell rang through the air. His hands worked faster to rub the product in. He glanced at himself in the mirror before wincing at the sudden pounding at his door. 

He left the bathroom, approaching the door cautiously. He peeked through the eyehole and came eye to eye with an angry Sugawara Koushi and a respectively embarrassed Samawura Daichi who was pleading for Suga to calm down and was met with a vicious glare. Akaashi opened the door, his calm facade shaking slightly but remaining intact.

"Oh no you don't! Don't ignore all of my attempts at communication and then give me that fake bullshit-" Sugawara turned and he gave a warm smile back at Daichi, "Excuse my french Daichi. I'll be fine from here. Thank you!" He stepped inside shutting the door lightly, leaving a worried and confused Daichi on the other side.

"Good morning," Akaashi said, face blank but his tone wavering with unsureness, "Go ahead, come right in."

"I would appreciate your sarcasm better if I hadn't been up all night pacing. Do you know how irritated Daichi was?" Sugawara asked an eyebrow raised.

"Why would Daichi be irritated with you pacing? At your home? Where you live alone." Akaashi questioned, trying to change the subject and because the topic left him curious.

"Don't you dare change the subject!" Sugawara started but the light blush on his cheeks told Akaashi that a story hid behind his words, "I'm making coffee. Go put some pants on you sleepy idiot." 

Akaashi looked down at his bare legs and groaned, in his haste to get ready he had forgotten to put on appropriate clothing. No wonder Koushi had rushed to shut the door and keep Daichi out of view. He hurried back to his room and began to change into something that kept him covered.

He opened his closet door and rummaged through the shirts that were hung up before deciding on a simple white button down, grabbing a light jean jacket to layer on top. He glanced over his pants selection before grabbing a pair of dark navy blue pants with a scattered pattern of sparse yellow paint. He slipped on some plain black socks before slipping on a pair of deep brown leather ankle boots. 

Satisfied with his outfit he left his closet and made his way into his living room where Sugawara had just finished setting a coffee mug on his coffee table, another mug gingerly in his hands as he brought it to his lips to taste. At Akaashi's appearance, he glanced over him giving an approving nod.

The two sat in a comfortable silence and Akaashi took the moment to observe his childhood friend and a small smile graced his face.He truly did appreciate the overbearing motherly nature of Koushi. The male was a year his elder and had even been the one to convince him to move out to Tokyo. 

They had met through their parents during elementary school. Suga's parents were very similar to his own, but suga had a much more defiant nature. At first glance, the man seemed soft-spoken and innocent, but once one got to know them they would come face to face with the persuasive, arguably manipulative, and fiery spirit that lied underneath. 

Koushi had been the first to ignore who Akaashi and his family were and treated him like any other person rather than a vertically challenged adult. Koushi didn't want to study or play piano together, but he would prefer to run around and play tag, help the cooks before dinner, and many other things his parents despised. 

He was much different than the stuck up children Akaashi often had to entertain and it was refreshing. Despite their dislike for Koushi and his antics, his parents allowed for the two to interact because his parents were significantly powerful as well. 

Akaashi appreciated Koushi for helping him survive for all this time. The few years spent without him had been hard and Akaashi could still remember the night he left. He didn't forget the tears, and the harsh words he screamed at Koushi. He didn't forget the hasty kiss left upon his lips as a last unspoken plea to stay. He didn't forget the pain he felt when he left, and Akaashi was sure he had ruined everything they had built for so long. 

However, Koushi called as much as he could and he never forgot Akaashi as each year past. He was there for Akaashi when his parents found out he was gay. He was there when they forced him to break up with his boyfriend at the time. Koushi never held anything above his head, never used his pain for personal gain. He had always been there, and Akaashi admitted that while a part of him still loved Koushi, but he knew the two would always remain best friends. 

Koushi left law school and decided to skip the bar and take his place in the Karasuno Police Force much to his parent's disapproval. Akaashi was there for Koushi when his parents disowned him, and when the handsome rookie offered him a place to stay while he steadied his feet, and when Koushi realized he was in love with the rookie. 

The two were on each other's side no matter what, and Akaashi felt that he was eternally grateful to whoever gifted him with Koushi. He knew Koushi felt the same.

"I'm sorry for worrying you so much.." Akaashi said softly, voice hesitating slightly as a light pink colored his ears, "I really had been asleep the entire time. It was a long day." 

"Imagine my surprise when Kageyama and Hinata burst into my office in tears ranting about Akaashi-kun and failing as officers," Koushi paused and grinned deviously, "They will be dealt with accordingly, of course."

Akaashi shivered and shook his head lightly, "It's not as if that's what I want," He paused as he thought carefully about his next words, "The entire situation was far too planned out for them to do any good. The men were professionals and they definitely knew what they were doing."

"Don't worry about those two, I know for a fact they don't hold anything said or done against you. They do care an awful lot about you. The entire force does now." Koushi said, his smile changing into an understanding one as his friend's eyes widened.

"They're just," Akaashi paused frowning slightly, "-A little overwhelming." 

Koushi made a hum of agreement, "But they are very kind. I think it would be nice to explain to them how you were feeling in the situation. To help them understand better."

Akaashi nodded, a frown still etched across his lips, "I'm not very good at apologizing. I am afraid I might scare them even more."

"You don't always need to use words."

Akaashi sighed trying to think of what he could do for the two eccentric officers, "You don't think they would mind sweets, do you?"

Koushi grinned, "We can head out to get the ingredients now!" 

"You don't have work?"

"Oh, nothing that Daichi can't handle."

"Ah, Daichi," Akaashi trailed off as he stood up dusting off his pants slightly before turning to give Koushi an evil smile, "When's the wedding?"

"Keiji! Don't you dare start that too!" Koushi grounded pushing Akaashi playfully who hid his laugh behind his hand. 

Around Koushi he let his guard down, most likely because the man could read him like an open book and always hit him whenever he pulled anything fake. He exposed a less serious demeanor a contrasting playful personality compared to his polite facade. 

He would admit that Sugawara was a big influence on him, and his manipulative personality had rubbed off on him although he wasn't complaining. It had helped him persuade his parents to help pay for the rest of his college, which was money well spent in his opinion. He did, however, have enough money set aside to get him to graduation in case they ever did decide to cut him off. 

The two men then set off for the market with Sugawara unloading all of his work stories onto Akaashi who listened quietly with a few snarky comments thrown in here and there. Daichi, who had just recently been named the Chief of the station after the rogue chief and his loyal officers had been uncovered, was the main character in all of these stories despite not having that big of a role.

Suga told Akaashi of how disappointed Daichi had been when the man he looked up to was revealed to be a fraud. The new recruitments kept him busy, though, and Sugawara appreciated them even if they were a handful at times 

Akaashi could remember the first day Sugawara had begun working at the police station. He had called him on his lunch break to gush about a deputy who looked amazing in his uniforms, the tall man who looked more like a criminal than an officer, and the smaller energetic officer who was infatuated with said criminal look alike. 

Akaashi had been afraid Sugawara was going to leave him behind soon, but Koushi continued to call him everyday and he had even met a few of the officers before moving through skype calls with him. He was grateful to have his best friend alongside him and when Suga suggested for Akaashi to transfer to Tokyo U so they'd be closer, he fell in love with the idea quickly. He was glad to get out of the toxic environment he had grown so use to anyway. 

They made it to the grocery store with Sugawara raving about his new chocolate chip brownie recipes and Daichi's thighs in his uniform. Akaashi wasn't quite sure anymore since his attention was on the red basket filling with ingredients. He hoped the two officers did not feel tremendously bad, and the guilt began to eat away at the dark haired male with each new thought. The two might be obnoxious and loud, but he could tell they tried very hard to excel in their careers and they cared for him as well.

"Are you even paying attention Akaashi?" Sugawara asked suspiciously and Akaashi nodded lazily making a hum of agreement.

"Hey! We're getting you more coffee after this because you definitely need it." He grumbled grabbing the cart from his hand and throwing in two pink aprons and chefs hats, but it went unknown to Akaashi which may have been best for him.

He could feel eyes burning hot against the back of his head and he shivered slightly, turning swiftly to see who was staring and met with an empty aisle. A flash of gray and black catching the corner of his eye, but when he focused on the location it was gone. He shrugged ad turned back to see Sugawara staring at him with confusion.

"Sorry, I thought someone was staring but I suppose not." He said, answering the unspoken question between them and Suga sighed softly.

"I'll make it a large coffee." He grumbled checking the list he made on his phone on the way to the store, "Can you go get some brownie mix?" He asked searching for the right white chocolate chips for the mix.

He sighed in response and was met with a harsh glare so he began to leave the aisle, turning the corner into the other side of the baking section. It was empty and almost eerie as a cheesy song played above his head. He began to feel apprehensive, but he couldn't decide what the feeling was about. The feeling of eyes tracing over him returned and he shivered again but didn't look for he knew he wouldn't find anything. 

His eyes traced the labels and designs of the boxes until he found one that he deemed acceptable to make. Luckily he had found it since it was the last one on the shelf. He grabbed it and pulled it from where it sat broodingly but in its place was a golden eye that widened at the sight of Akaashi.

Akaashi jumped back and dropped the brownie mix. He let out a curse under his breath and turned to pick it up, but when he bent down he heard the distinct click of a camera so he straightened up with the box secure in his hands. 

He brought himself to where he had seen the familiar wild eyes but the was now filled with a box of rice. He blinked and rubbed his eyes but the image stayed the same and he couldn't help but wonder if he had imagined the entire thing. 

He shook his head and began to head back to Suga, turning to look back one more time but as expected the aisle was empty.

"Weird." He mumbled to himself as he returned to Suga who seemed content with the box he had come back with.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to be a beta reader or an editor for this story (or just wants to talk about gay volleyball players bc who doesn't) my tumblr is cloudyish.tumblr.com!!


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